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The South Korean giant said the Galaxy S5 Mini would sport the smaller screen size as part of an effort to expand the appeal of the Galaxy line to those turned off by the bulkier 5.1in dimensions of the full-sized Galaxy S5.

"We always strive to develop devices that appeal to a range of consumer tastes and styles," gushed JK Shin, CEO and head of IT and mobile communications for Samsung Electronics.

"The Galaxy S5 mini allows consumers to enjoy the iconic design and essential and useful features of the Galaxy S5 through a maximized minimalism approach."

The handset will sport an 8Mp rear-facing camera and a 2.1Mp front-facing camera with 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a microSD slot supporting up to 64GB cards. It is IP67 certified – meaning it's dust proof and water resistant to 1 metre – and supports 4G plus the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB connectivity. Samsung will offer the Mini with a choice of black, white, blue and gold color options.

Even with the smaller dimensions, the S5 mini manages to check in slightly larger than rival Apple's iPhone 5S. The S5 Mini's 4.5-inch screen compares to the iPhone's 4-inch display, while the Mini is slightly bulkier with dimensions of 131.1 x 64.8 x 9.1mm and a weight of 120g, compared to the iPhone's 123.8 x 58.6 x7.6mm and 112g weight.

Samsung said that it will be launching the Mini this month in Russia with a global release to take place at a later date. It's believed it'll carry a price tag of €479 in the Eurozone. ®